I woke the same as any other day

You know, I should have stayed in bed

The day I tried to win

I wallowed in the blood and mud

With all the other pigs

And I learned that I was a liar

Trunks' inability to move mattered little to his enemy. Aizen snatched Trunks by his hair and slammed a knee into his face. He then lifted and launched him away with a fist driven into his face. Trunks' back smacked against a pillar and dropped him to his hands and knees.

Blood from his nose dripped onto the floor. Blocked sinuses added to the discomfort and pain in his head. Until the last exchange, Trunks consumed himself with an overwhelming sense of dread. However, he couldn't stay like this. With a crooked nose and watery eyes, Trunks set his sights back on Aizen.

"Is there no fight left in you?" Aizen asked. "I guess you aren't a true Saiyan, after all. No, you're just a frightened human with Saiyan powers. I wonder what your father would say if he saw you in this state."

Trunks growled and squeezed the handle of Tensa Zangetsu. He flung himself toward Aizen to regain momentum. Aizen closed his eyes and sidestepped a slash. Trunks pivoted and launched a flurry of sword strikes at Aizen. However, he only sliced through the air. He changed strategies and employed the Afterimage to confuse his opponent.

Aizen stood still. "How mediocre. I was more impressed with Soi Fon's speed clones."

Trunks gasped as Aizen closed the distance and rammed a fist into his stomach. While Trunks leaned over in agony, Aizen gripped him by his jaw and flew him toward the columns. He smashing his head through each one. After he had gone through several pillars, Aizen tossed Trunks toward the ground and shot an energy ball to follow him. Once Trunks' chest hit the floor, the energy ball impacted. The smoke cleared to reveal a hole that led to the floor below, but Trunks disappeared.

Apart from the light that shined down from the new opening in the ceiling, the floor below the throne room covered itself in darkness. It made an ideal place for Trunks to escape from Aizen and collect his thoughts. He stood behind a pillar erected away from the hole, concealing his energy and breathing as best he could. His ears waited for a sound of any sort to echo, but none came. In the room's stillness, Trunks slid down the column and tried to soothe his anxieties.

Any strategy that came to him fell dead on arrival. If he couldn't lay a finger on him, he had no chance of winning. With the Hogyoku now active, he would only grow stronger and soon become unstoppable. The dull ache in his skull numbed out. Trunks buried his head between his knees. The sinking weight of failure dragged on his conscience. His cowardice was exposed for all in the Soul Society to see. Guilt, shame, and humiliation subdued his once confident spirit.

Aizen glide down and landed on the floor. Trunks' head shot up, and he rushed his hand over his mouth to stifle his hyperventilation. Goosebumps sprouted all along his arms as he squeezed his palm over his lips.

The sound of footsteps drew closer. His pulse punched harder and harder against his throat. The footsteps stopped, and the room once again fell silent. Every muscle in Trunks' body, even his eyes, refused to move.

After a moment, the steps resumed, but their echo grew distant. He eased his hand away from his lips and let out a silent breath.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting-"

The whisper in his ear caused Trunks to jolt and fire a blast in reflex. From point-blank range, Aizen brushed the ball away from his face. Trunks tried to use the opportunity to run, but Aizen seized him by the side of his head and slammed it against the pillar. As his face pressed against the cold column, Trunks observed Aizen wore a fresh outfit.

"It's not polite to interrupt while someone is speaking," Aizen said. "As I was saying, I'm sorry I kept you waiting. It was quite a nuisance walking around with torn clothing, so I took the time to replace them. Now, let's talk about you and that adoring audience of yours."

Aizen shoved him harder. "What do you believe they're all thinking right now? You told them you would handle this by yourself, but look at what's become of you. Just imagine all the pity they feel while they watch you tremble and hide. Imagine the disappointment they all share, knowing you lied to them, and that soon, they'll be next."

"No," Trunks said. "I- I didn't… lie. I just… "

"You deluded them into thinking that they could rest their hopes on you, so much so that you even fooled yourself. However, you seem to always forget one thing: you're not Goku, you're not Gohan, and you're certainly not your father. You, Trunks Briefs, are nothing."

Aizen released Trunks and kicked him upward, breaking through the ceiling. Once his body reached the roof of the tower, Aizen teleported above him and punched him in his spine. He smacked back onto the top floor. He sprawled face down, crippled by agony. Aizen landed and approached Trunks once more.

"Did you ever consider why it was so easy for you to destroy Nnoitra and Tesla? It was because I designed it to be that way." Trunks gasped. "I bestowed him and Barragan less power purposely. Then, I had you and Goten fight inside of Las Noches to prevent either of you from detecting power levels from the other battles. I figured that one of you would take the bait, though it seemed more likely that it would be you. Goten is a bit more calculating than you are. I suppose your ignorance is the one thing you've inherited from your ancestors."

Aizen arrived next to Trunks and kicked his body to face upward. He kneeled over him and plunged his fists into his ribs. Trunks had neither the physical strength nor mental fortitude to offer defense. He yelped his pain out to no one. After Aizen finished laying into Trunks' body, he wiped knuckle after knuckle into his face. After what felt like an eternity, Aizen stood and allowed Trunks to soak in the results of his brutality.

Each blow left its mark. Intense swelling and bruises covered multiple sections of his face. A large cut split the middle of his lip open. Through his black and swollen eyes, the room spun out of his control. Most, if not all, parts of his torso burned. Pain pierced his abdomen every time he tried to inhale. However, he still had one last chance to recover.

With a trembling hand, Trunks reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his saving grace: the Senzu bean. As soon as he brought his hand out of his pocket, Aizen stomped it to the floor. The bean slipped out of his fingers.

Aizen picked up the bean and dangled it over Trunks' head. "Did you believe a Senzu bean would help you? If you eat this, it would only prolong your suffering. Allow me to do you a favor."

The bean incinerated in Aizen's fingertips; their ashes descended onto Trunks' face. With his hopes withered away, he laid at the mercy of his soon-to-be killer.

A sharp sensation crashed into his chest. Aizen dug his heel into him and forced him to cry out in agony.

"I told you before," Aizen said. "They can't hear you. So, go ahead. Scream as loud as you'd like."

Aizen chuckled, then pushed his foot further downward. Trunks yelled at the top of his lungs while his body writhed in complete anguish. His hair returned to its normal color and fell down the sides of his head. He had reached his limit.

Once he reverted to his base form, Aizen removed his foot. Trunks stopped his screams and made brief but heavy pants.

Aizen once again kneeled over Trunks. "Regardless of what has transpired here, I'm grateful for this warmup. Granting new powers onto the Espada proved more taxing for the Hogyoku than I had expected. Thanks to your petty efforts, however, I'll soon be able to destroy all of your friends. As a token of my gratitude, I will end your misery."

Aizen brought both of his hands towards Trunks' neck and gripped his throat. Trunks struggled to pry Aizen's fingers away, but no amount of resistance stopped the burn in his lungs. Pressure built in his head, and in less than a minute, his air supply would run out.

Ichigo's knees buckled at the horror that unfolded in front of him. He - as well as everyone else standing in front of the Squad Twelve barracks - experienced bouts of fury and frustration while they watched Aizen's torture. However, as Aizen strangled Trunks, a strong sense of desperation mounted on each one of them. They looked at other monitors, but it seemed no other fighter attempted to rescue him.

"No, please," Ichigo said. "Don't do this, Aizen. Somebody, make it stop. Kisuke…"

Ichigo turned his head towards his mentor. Even the calm and calculating Kisuke Urahara lowered his head. Ichigo turned back towards the TV. He cursed his helplessness while his friend kicked and clawed for his life.

Aizen's palms pressed into Trunks' esophagus. His face shifted to blue as he coughed and gagged for any sliver of oxygen. None came, and his energy waned. Everything slowed around him, and only one thought came to Trunks' mind.

I guess he's right. I'm just a liar. Everyone, I'm sorry… you shouldn't… have… trus… ted…

The light faded from his blue eyes. His hands and legs twitched one last time, then slumped to the floor. Tensa Zangetsu disappeared from his grasp.

Sosuke Aizen stood and glanced down with indifference. "Killed by naivety and arrogance. Such is the Saiyan way. Oh well, I'm sure his friends enjoyed the show. "

A glacial silence swept through the Squad Twelve barracks. Heads fell to the floor at the sight of the motionless corpse.

"Trunks… no." Ichigo's shoulders drooped as his eyes welled with tears. It didn't matter what he did now. There was nothing that could change Trunks' fate.

Soi Fon tried her best to suppress her emotions. She put her hand over her mouth to hide her quivering jaw.

No, get up. You can't die. Not like this…

As tears streamed down Ichigo's cheeks, the camera shook. His eyes widened as Aizen jumped away from Trunks' body. The video feed froze and replaced the footage with gray static. Everyone gasped while Kisuke scrambled to troubleshoot.

Soi Fon spun to him. "Urahara! What's going on!?"

"There was an internal error with the camera module," Kisuke said.

"Then fix it! We need to see what's happening!"

"I can't do anything from here. Whatever's transpiring in that room is the reason the feed shut off."

Ichigo bounced his eyes between the other screens, but nothing shed light on the situation. Was that you, Trunks? Are you still there?

Uncontrollable pressure within Trunks' body shook the tower. Black and red energy circled him where he laid. The power that swelled dwarfed his previous limitations.

Aizen grinned. "What a fascinating turn of events. It's quite nostalgic."

The energy shrouded him and burst outward. Violent winds and quakes surged throughout Las Noches. All battles halted once everyone inside and outside the castle walls detected an ominous and bloodthirsty presence. None of the Z-Fighters ever sensed a more monstrous power. Their worries grew about this new danger, along with Trunks' energy signal, or the lack thereof. Most of the Arrancar didn't know whether to consider this new entity an ally or enemy. Ulquiorra, however, proved to be the only one familiar, yet unbothered with this situation.

A bony silhouette stood behind a thick cloud of smoke. The figure summoned Tensa Zangetsu and sliced through the dust. With long, golden hair, and his other clothing to sport, the inner Hollow within Trunks emerged. With a gaping hole in its chest and no eyes in its skull, the creature glared at an unwavering Aizen.

"How ironic," Aizen said. "One of my first successful creations is now fighting to kill me. Nevertheless, it's nice to see you again, White."

White growled and released a bloodcurdling shriek into the air. It lowered its head and fired off a red Cero from between its horns. Aizen leaped into the air to dodge. A Sonido allowed White to appear behind Aizen and swing its sword. Aizen slipped past, but only guarded himself against the kick that followed. He careened towards the ground, but recovered. Once he dug his heels into the floor, he dashed back into the air. White raced down toward him with a singular purpose: to dismember anyone that stood in its path.

High above the castle's canopy, Goku froze at the energy below. Ulquiorra, however, flew toward Goku and landed a punch to his cheek that sent him backward. Before he settled himself, Goku found another Cero Oscuras headed for him. Though he stopped it with his hands, he couldn't shove the blast away from him. It soon pushed him back far away into Las Noches. Goku regained his bearings and deflected the Cero. Ulquiorra emerged above him to hammer fist him into the sand. Goku landed on his hands, then stood up to fix his eyes on his opponent above.

Ulquiorra's wings spread apart. "You've clung to hope for long enough. Now, you will taste hopelessness before your demise."

Goku's eyes widened as dark spiritual pressure poured out from the Espada's back. The intensity of Ulquiorra's power, combined with its gloom and despair, caused Goku to shudder. In a rare instance, these negative emotions pierced Goku right at his core and paralyzed him.

"Tormenta de Murcielago." Ulquiorra's spiritual pressure spiraled and formed into a tornado. Before he could react to it, the vortex swallowed him. Goku stood helpless as the spiritual pressure shredded through his orange gi and tore at his skin. Although it ripped into his body, he had to fight back.

Goku released his power at its maximum, allowing his blue aura to burst out and pierced through the tornado. Ulquiorra gasped as Tormenta de Murcielago dissipated before his eyes. It shocked him more to find that Goku, though scarred, bloodied, and shaking, held his position.

"I don't understand you," Ulquiorra said. "You can barely stand, yet you refuse to die. You even refuse to attack me with anger. Is there something wrong with your head?"

Goku steadied himself and smiled. "You know, it's kinda funny. I came here thinking I only wanted to get payback, but I realized how much I missed fighting with my back against the wall. I've had a lot of fun, and it makes me wanna train harder when this is all over. So for that, Ulquiorra, thank you."

Goku tore off the remains of his orange gi. A stern gaze replaced his former demeanor. "On the other hand, I can't forgive you for the horrible things you've done, and from what I'm sensing inside, there's somewhere else I need to be. So, if you don't mind, I think it's time we wrapped this up."

He gritted his teeth and powered up even further. His veins protruded from his head and neck. In exchange for strength, he ignored the stress his body would bear.

"Kaioken, times four!" A fierce, crimson aura shot out far above his blue aura and tinted the area. While Ulquiorra continued to look on in bewilderment, Goku stepped into his fighting stance. With boosted speed and resolve, he charged at Ulquiorra, determined to settle the score.

A/N: This one is a much shorter chapter, but this is where I felt like ending it. Possibly might be a trend going forward.

Yeah... gonna have to change the rating back to M. Really got influenced by Around the Fur and self-titled/Life is Peachy Korn.

2000 views... fucking nuts. I appreciate it, everyone. It helps me stay motivated to push forward.

Have a great week, yall, and I'll see you in the next chapter.